Arts & Music

We Got Some Heavy Steppin' to Do! — Yet Another Dubstep PowerPack

Here we go with another jam-packed, bass-bumpin combo post.. Should be another goodie.

And we kick it off with...

Zeds Dead

Yet another fierce duo that has been just tearin' it up in the scene. First track I came up on from these guys was their "Doin' Time (remix)", originally by none other than Sublime, of course, and released two years ago at least. The introduction of these bad boys was ever so appropriate, since it acted as an excellent preview into what was to come from them — more and more siiick remixes, and beyond that, remixes that you would not expect to hear, such as their Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter (remix)", or their Moody Blues "White Satin (remix)", as well as their Radiohead "Pyramid Song (remix)", and tons of others.

The group brings such an eclectic sound — they many novel samples and intricate rhythms, and they never hesitate to variate BPM. They literally just bounce all around the tempo register, hittin' the 170s, 120s, and of course, the 140s. It's quite the love/hate to be honest: Love it for the diversity and the finesse that they execute it with — you rarely realize the tempo until you load it up into Serrato or tap it out; hate it because it makes their songs so damn rough to mix into a Dubstep set! I've definitely heard it be done, and done well no doubt — but still, it definitely doesn't make it easy.

Zeds Dead's last release, the "Rumble in the Jungle EP", was only two tracks, but neither of them were tempoed according to "traditional" dubstep standards. Rumble in the Jungle bangs in the low 130-BPM range, whereas Undah Yuh Skirt kicks it up to the mid-180s. Both bring that eclectic and unique Zeds Dead sound — I was very impressed with this release that dropped about five months ago.

Now, these crazy Canadians have brought us their "Adrenaline EP," which is all in the 140 range, and all smashin'. But even though these songsremain within a more specific BPM range, they stay consistent with their sound, their variety, and of course, their heaviness.

Here comes the boom...

Filth Collins

Moving right along to filthy Filth Collins. This dubber outta Sydney, Australia has definitely been making quite the name for himself from the start. I was opened up to the world of Mr. Collins with "Feed 'Em to the Pigs", but really started getting a better feel of this DJ through my buddy, Supreme, an up-and-coming DJ local to the SF area. The two of them have been doing a lot of collabos in the recent, and have seemed to build a little crew along with dynamic duos Megalodon and K Theory, bouncing tracks off one another, sharing stems and droppin' some serious bangers. You will definitely be seeing all of these DJs featured on the blog in the not-so-distant future, so keep an eye out.

Here it is... The "Ruffneck EP" by none other than Filth Collins...

I couldn't post this without having a full version of "Just Don't Care," 'cause thus far, it's my fave!

Liquid Stranger

Up next, as you can see, is Liquid Stranger. He was one of those DJs that somehow slipped past me for a while — one of those "Wait ...You've never heard of him?!" conversations you have with a friend. Immediately, I jumped on the web to seek out this bad boy. Came across his tunes "Bully" and "Ripple VIP", which just bottled my mind! Ya know, when your mind gets put into a bottle :-)

Now we're exposed to some more heaviness from this dirty Swede, and it's damn good! This five-track EP is filled with his classic bangin' bass lines and groovin' rhythms. He splices in some Drumstep, which is always lovely, and even does a nasty VIP of a track he did with Excision a bit back — the original was def a goodie, but the VIP is a meeeaan one!

Say no more, buckle up, and get ready for the Wetware Warfare EP...

Obsidia

And finally, we have Obsidia. Another one of those DJ/producers who was initially influenced heavily by the metal scene prior to doin' the dubstep dance — there seems to be a trend here, with the likes of Skrillex, Excision and many others. To take it a step further, now, it is becoming even more common to see the influences of metal incorporated into dubstep, and even further, more and more remixes of Metal tunes are poppin' up, validated by a very common claim that metal is to rock what dubstep is to electronic/dance music (a claim that I use myself all the time, 'cause hey, it's truth!)

Just like Metal, dubstep producers aim to create the baddest, most intricately unique sounds and rhythms — always trying to top the heaviest out there or exposing a new element or feel. We've seen how this great genre has evolved over the years; some are all about it, others resist — but either way, it's changing, and I love it. What can I say, my ears just love the heavy, and I'm stoked to see where the 'step goes next.

Although you can't really hear much direct metal influence in Obsidia's tunes — aside from the bell on the ride cymbal spliced into "Oblivion" here and there, as well as the samples of tom fills he incorporates — his brutal sound is enough.

Stay up with this naughty Nottingham DJ on his Soundcloud for more and more tunes. With the momentum he's building, I have no illusions that there will be much more to come, so be sure to stay tuned.

That about wraps it up for this one. Hope you've enjoyed all the talk and tunes!

This is the third installment of our new weekly feature, in which we partner with the folks from ElectroShiz* for a look into the wide, wonderful world of Bay Area electro and dusbtep. See more from them here.

*some of whom, full disclosure, work in our sales department — though this blog is produced entirely independently of our advertisers.